


A Mortal Sacrifice

by Eleanor Green (eldestmuse)



Category: Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Ars Goetia, Demon Summoning, Dungeon, Fort Howard, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-23
Updated: 2012-04-23
Packaged: 2017-11-04 05:24:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/390238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eldestmuse/pseuds/Eleanor%20Green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lacey Hughes is kidnapped and made to be the sacrifice in a demon summoning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Mortal Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Seventh Sanctum generated prompt: 
> 
> The story is set in a dungeon. The story takes place in the late morning. During the story, there is a fight to the death. A character becomes contemplative during the story.
> 
> x-posted to http://torchao3.b1.jcink.com/index.php?showtopic=51

Lacey had never seen a dungeon before--not a real one, at least. She wasn't confident of her identification, but the hole in the ground seemed like one to her. Her hands were chained to a dank stone floor with cold iron -- _very_ cold iron. Her wrists felt chafed and there were goosebumps on her arms. The dress appropriate for barhopping was useless for keeping warm in a dark, underground cell.  
  
How long had she been down here? The last thing she remembered was taking a cab home from Federal Hill. No, that wasn't right. She remembered getting _into_ the car, giving the cabbie directions, then nothing.  
  
She must not have made it home. No matter how much she'd had to drink, nothing and no one could have taken her from Thompson Point without her consent. Killed her, maybe, but not kidnapped.  
  
Which begged the question -- where was she? There weren't so many dungeons in Baltimore that it should have been a mystery, but she doubted the Montrose boy had taken her and couldn't even be sure she was still in the city.  
  
A voice she didn't recognize echoed throughout the room. "Ahh, Ms. Hughes. I see you are awake."  
  
Lacey summoned her bravado. "I don't see you at all."  
  
"All in good time, Ms. Hughes." He knew who she was, which meant she probably hadn't been taking randomly. Someone was targeting the family; someone either suicidal or powerful… or being manipulated by someone powerful.  
  
The White Court liked to work through cat's paws.  
  
"Nice digs you've got here."  
  
"Nothing but the best," he answered cheerfully.  
  
She kicked out toward the edge of the chalk circle. It was too far for her to smudge, but she could see it, sketched in green. "Don't you think this is a little much for little ole me?"  
  
He laughed. The sound held genuine humor, but its creepiness quotient sent chills down her already-chilled spine. "It's not for you, my dear. No, no. _You_ are for _it_."  
  
Lacey forced her voice to sound conversational. She wouldn't give this creep the satisfaction of hearing her terror. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with?"  
  
That laugh again. She gritted her teeth.  
  
"Messing with? No, no, Ms. Hughes. I'm _sacrificing_ you. Mortal scion of the Hughes family. I know exactly what I'm doing."  
  
He came into view, finally, careful not to step over the circle she was trapped in. She couldn't feel it, but she wasn't ignorant. Magic had been a part of her life since she could toddle, and the circle would prevent her family from tracking her down using their blood connection or one of her hairs.  
  
"The only question is, will you figure it out before it's too late."  
  
He started speaking in Latin. Lacey was fluent in Chinese, Gaelic, French and Spanish. She didn't understand him, but it was trivial to pick out a word here and there. She recognized Haborym. It was a name straight from the Lemegeton.  
  
"Oh, you bloody fool," she whispered. He was summoning a demon. She screamed.  
  
Maybe she'd get lucky and disrupt his concentration… or even luckier and he'd break the circle to smack her around a little.  
  
The demon manifested in the circle as a handsome man dressed in a 17th century suit. Leah stopped screaming to stare. He had three heads; the center was human, the one on the left serpentine, and the one on the right feline. He was a demonic chimaera… but not the ravening beast she'd half feared.  
  
"Ah, the mortal Hughes girl."  
  
She gulped. He knew her. Her family didn't shy from the things most wizards and practitioners feared, but she didn't like knowing that they were the subject of infernal gossip. Still, it was as good a designation as any, though of course the whole family was _mortal._ She was just the only blood member of the family who lacked some form of magic. She took after her mother that way.  
  
"Hello, Haborym," Lacey said. After all, her captor hadn't bothered to hide his name from her. She did him the favor of not using his whole Name, though. She wasn't a practitioner, it would just be rude to use it.  
  
The creature beamed at her. "I can't recall the last time a sacrifice was so polite," he said.  
  
"Kill her!" the summoner demanded.  
  
The demon barely spared him a glance. "All in good time, my dear man."  
  
Lacey smiled, relieved. The situation was still dangerous, but now she had a chance. The demon wasn’t an underworld thug. He had couth and class -- and power. He wasn't a thrall, and though he might still kill her -- probably would -- he might also reject her as a sacrifice, if she played her cards right. She called up the smile she used to charm the rich and powerful. She was good at her job -- it was a killer smile. "There's rarely a reason to be rude."  
  
"Tell me, child. Would you like to have power? You needn't be so isolated from your family. I could give you magic."  
  
Lacey froze, her smile still in place, as her mind raced, calculating the possibilities.  
  
The summoner realized what was being offered. "No!" he gasped. "You can't do that. _I_ brought you here to kill her. You're powerful enough to destroy her whole damn family. Do it!"  
  
She had seconds to decide -- retort, or let the demon. She couldn't risk his agreement, and needed to impress the creature… without boxing herself into a corner.  
  
"Shut up." It was easy to make her tone cold and cutting, even from her ignoble position on the floor. "You trapped him and made him an offer. He's still deciding whether to accept. Keeping acting like a jerk and he'll refuse."  
  
The summoner sneered at her. "Lies. Why would you help me destroy you."  
  
Lacey sighed, turning head to contemplate the ceiling. It looked like a bunker, not a dungeon. "I just can't abide fools."  
  
The demon smiled like she was a favored student. "You didn't answer my question."  
  
"Don't you dare," the summoner hissed. "I'll destroy you for it, girl, root and branch."  
  
Lacey faked a yawn. "You're already trying to do that, you idiot." She turned her head to face the demon. "But even so, I wouldn't accept. Strings or no. I'm already powerful. I know my place and I'm good at what I do. Magic wouldn't help. I'm happy with my life, even if it ends now."  
  
The demon clapped its hands in delight and she breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been afraid he'd take offense, or write her off as unwilling to deal. "If not magic, then what? Knowledge? Oh, the things I could whisper in your ear." The snake's tongue flicked out.  
  
"You'd take the fun out of finding out." She pouted prettily.  
  
"Kill her now or I'll send you back."  
  
Lacey smiled. "Spare me and I'll speak favorably of you to Aaron."  
  
"A little favor for a little favor, hm? A tempting offer, but as they say… a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  
  
The door didn't slam open. It melted in a roar of white flame. Cousin Hugh stalked into the room, weighted shillelagh gripped tightly in one fist and a Glock held loosely in the other.  
  
"You should have taken me up on the offer," Lacey confided in the demon. "His is about to expire."  
  
"It's not his will keeping me here." The demon smiled toothily. "His will is keeping me caged."  
  
A shot rang out before Lacey could call a warning. The summoner collapsed bonelessly to the ground. "You okay Lacey?"  
  
"Dandy," she murmured, every inch of her focus on the demon. "What now?"  
  
"Now, I spare you and you say nice things about me to your friend who likes to make deals."  
  
Lacey smiled and inclined her head as best she could in her awkward position. "By default, but I won't quibble. Please don't burn the city down."  
  
The cat's whiskered twitch. "Not _this_ city. We want dear Aaron to think well of me, no?"  
  
He disappeared.  
  
"What time is it?" Lacey asked as Hugh searched the dead summoner for a key to her manacles.  
  
"Morning. Your mother started to worry when you weren't home by dawn."  
  
"I'll never live this down." Lacey groaned. "How did you find me?"  
  
"You don't summon a Great Duke of Hell this close to the city without Aaron noticing," He found the key and took it off the warm corpse of her kidnapper.  
  
She scooted a bit to avoid the pooling blood. "He _sensed_ it?"  
  
"The ghosts were agitated. He has ways of hearing about that sort of thing."  
  
Aaron had ways of hearing about everything. That was what made him so valuable to the family. "Where are we?"  
  
"Fort Howard."  
  
Lacey frowned. "Fort Howard doesn't have dungeons."  
  
"Bunkers." Hugh undid her manacles.  
  
"Poh-tay-toh, Pah-tah-toh," Lacey mumbled, rubbing her wrists as she sat up. "The important thing is, this sucked and I have a hangover."  
  
He holstered his gun and helped her up. "My car is outside. Let me handle this and I'll be right out."  
  
She left him to it. Hugh's Cougar didn't have a lot of leg room, but at least it would probably be warm.


End file.
